Dome structures are well known. Geodesic dome structures have been used for greenhouses, event shelters, emergency shelters and even long term buildings, such as houses. Geodesic dome structures provide an efficient use of materials per square foot of space and are structurally stable in many kinds of extreme weather. Additionally, they are efficient to heat and cool because they do not have volumetric dead spaces exhibited by rectangular and square structures.
Geodesic domes known in the prior art are often joined by one of two ways. In the first method, the ends of struts are flattened and a hole is drilled through the flattened end of each strut. A long bolt, washer, and nut are used to fasten the struts together. The struts may then be bent to the correct angle. In the second method, the flattened, drilled ends of the struts are connected to a common disk by a plurality of fasteners. Both of these methods require fasteners to hold the struts together.
However, it has been found that geodesic domes using struts with flattened ends may provide too little support for the structure. The inherent strength in a strut, such as in a cylindrical strut, is greatly diminished when the ends of the struts are flattened. Additionally, assembly of these geodesic domes may be cumbersome and time consuming. Each of these methods requires multiple builders to assist in assembly of the geodesic dome and the struts must be manipulated to form the correct angle. Tools are required to assemble and disassemble the dome. These problems may result in increased costs, increased assembly and disassembly time, inferior structural characteristics, and limited structure size.